When life gets in the way
by raok
Summary: Sequel to A Lifetime in a Year. Might seem a bit disjointed without reading the original story. What happens after the first part of happily ever after? An engaged Zoe and Wade try and make it work as they build their careers and lives together and apart. Rated M/MA for sexy times and swearing starting Chapter 1. All characters owned by CW - not me.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hello! So I couldn't let this story and my version of these characters go quite yet. Plus a couple people mentioned wanted a sequel and they've been amazing reviewers (you know who you are :) ) so that was a huge motivation. Anywho, still don't own these characters - CW does. Reviews keep me and this story going. Enjoy!

ZPOV

Holy crap.

I was engaged. To Wade frickin Kinsella.

Wade slid the ring onto my finger and we both broke out into a somewhat maniacal laugh as he stood up. "So...we're engaged?" I asked him.

"Yea," he nodded, shoving his hands in his back pockets. "Looks like it."

"Like, getting married." He was going to have to validate this a million times before we actually got married because he was engaged to a neurotic, albeit adorable, head case.

"That is typically what an engagement leads to." He smirked, wrapping an arm around my shoulders as we started to walk back towards the car. "You're regretting this decision already, aren't you?" He teased.

"Well I mean, you did catch me by surprise. And I mean, the way you did it, with the water and the sun... I'm thinking witchcraft was at play."

He laughed, opening the door for me then jogging around to the other side and hopping in. "Nope, just good ol' fashioned woo-ing." He turned towards me and flipped the ignition. "I'm quite the woo-er. The wooie-ist man out there, I do believe."

"Keep saying 'woo' and you'll woo yourself right out of a fiancee," I smirked.

"Go ahead. That just means I'll have to woo, no, re-woo you," he continued to chuckle.

I rolled my eyes, doing my best to hold back my smile, and looked down at my hand. I couldn't stop staring at the ring on my finger. I felt like one of those girls in a chick-lit book that was obsessed with showing off her ring, only I was the one enamored with looking at it – I didn't care who else saw it.

We drove in silence the remainder of the ride until we got back to the plantation. I was too focused on the ring, and who knew what Wade was thinking about. "Should I wear it?" I asked as I continued to stare at it even though we'd already reached the guest house.

"You are wearing it."

"No," I said, looking over at him. "Today I mean. I want today to be all about the bar opening."

He got out of the car and I did the same. "It will be, plus, if you wear it and are _at_ my bar, more people will come by to see it and harass you about our wedding."

"Ohhh," I said, nodding. "I get it. This is a marketing stunt. Propose to me, I go to the bar, you get the entire town to go to your place and ditch the Rammer Jammer."

He laughed, starting up the stairs to my place. "Doc you give me way too much credit. I am _not_ that smart." He pointed a finger at me. "But I like where you're going with it."

I rolled my eyes, following him up the stairs. "Where are you going? I have to be at work soon."

He looked at me like I had three heads and should know why we came back home. "Um, duh, engagement sex."

"What?"

"Come on, don't tell me you've never heard of it," he said scooping me up and carrying me into the cottage. "It's the best sex you can have, only second to make-up sex."

"Is that so?" I asked as he laid me on the bed and yanked his shirt off.

He crawled over me, kissing down my neck. "Yea, let me prove it to you."

I moaned as his teeth nipped my neck. I arched my back, pressing my chest against his and felt his hands reach around, dragging the zipper of my dress down. As a woman of science, who was I to deny him the chance to test a hypothesis?

He pulled back, sliding the straps of my dress down and got my dress off in seconds. I reached up, undoing his jeans which didn't help much since he had to stand up to push them and his boxers down anyway. I sat up on my knees and he bent down to kiss me.

"I'm the last girl you're ever gonna kiss," I smirked against his lips.

"Damn straight you are," he agreed. "You okay with that?"

I nodded, reaching around to undo the clasps of my bra and scoot it off. "I am, if you are."

He lifted me up, walked us just far enough to press my back against the wall. My legs unwound from his waist and my feet planted on the floor. "I am absolutely okay with it," he said as his lips scaled across my shoulders. One of his hands cupped my cheek as his mouth rejoined mine; his other hand gripped my hip possessively, tugging at the side of my underwear until it tore and dropped softly between us. I would have otherwise yelled at him for destroying a perfectly good pair of underwear, but his hand was touching me in places that I could never complain about.

Turned out he was right. Engagement sex was the second best sex two people could ever have. Especially when it happens twice.

"Do we really have to get up?" I asked as he rolled off me and onto his side of the bed. I immediately turned onto my side and latched onto him like a koala. He pushed his lips into my hair, laughing as his fingers dragged up and down my spine.

"No, we don't have to. But then you'd be unable to cure people of diseases, and my bar won't open."

I lifted my head from his chest and looked at him. "I guess we're getting up then."

He smirked, cupping my neck with one hand and leaning down to kiss me. "Your call, not mine. I'm perfectly happy doing what we've just done, for the rest of the day."

I rolled my eyes and moved my head back down onto his chest. "Five more minutes."

His fingers began dancing up and down my back again, and after a minute of silence I heard him start to speak. "So what are you doing about the ring?"

"I think I'll wait til tomorrow to wear it." I looked up at him, my chin digging into his chest. "If that's okay." I really wanted tonight to be about him, his huge success, and the bar. He 100% deserved it.

He nodded, kissing the middle of my forehead. "I'm fine with it. Just don't change your mind between now and then."

"Will you?"

He smirked. "Not a chance doc."

WPOV

Holy crap, she'd said yes. My plan of trying to surprise her by being casual about it would have totally backfired if she'd said no to coming out to the property with me. I hadn't made a back up plan, and with how long it had taken me to figure out this one, it'd probably be awhile before I thought of something else. Then again, with how much this had been on my mind, there was a chance I'd be a total asshole and propose to her the next time I'd had too much to drink.

But none of that mattered because she'd said yes. I was so relieved and hell not gonna lie, kind of shocked that she said yes right away. I was expecting her to do one of those things where she said she needed time to think about it and dragged out a decision, killing me in the process. But no, she was fucking on board with this thing.

She went to take another shower and I got dressed. When she came out in that little towel it damn near took my breath away, even though I'd seen her like that hundreds of times. I laid on the bed, propping myself up against the headboard while she got ready. I couldn't stop looking at her. To avoid feeling like a creep though, I opened my mouth. "Did you want to grab dinner before the bar opens tonight?"

She picked up the dress I'd taken off of her earlier and walked over to me turning around and pulling her hair up. I moved so my legs hung off the bed on either side of her. I pulled her closer not because I needed to, but I wanted to. Without her having to ask, I dragged the zipper up slowly and felt her lean back a little. "Yea, if you have time." She turned her head to look at me. "Do you want to go out or eat here?"

I shrugged. "Wherever. Maybe here since the only options are really the Rammer Jammer or Fancy's. I'm not really up for dressing up, and it'll feel weird eating at the Rammer Jammer when I'm pretty much opening up its competition across the street."

She turned to fully face me, and I wrapped my arms around her tiny waist, pulling her closer. "Here it is."

I moved my hand up to the side of her neck and pulled her to me for a kiss. "We should get going before I throw you onto this bed and try and go for a third round," I smirked against her lips.

"Maybe another five minutes," she grinned, repeating what she'd told me less than an hour ago. Who was I to argue? I fell back onto the bed, pulling her with me, eliciting a giggled from her as we made out for way longer than five minutes.

I dropped her off just before 11am, kissing her goodbye before she dashed up the stairs to the clinic.

I parked and headed into the bar, waving to Wanda who I had poached from the Rammer Jammer. When I'd told Wally I was quitting to open up my own bar, he offered to sell the Rammer Jammer to me and while it was tempting, I couldn't do it. I had to start fresh, do something that was all my own. So when I turned it down, he was quick to promote Shelley to unofficial co-owner, i.e. the bar's work horse, which I'd been for years.

Wanda was holding a clipboard, probably with the inventory list when my phone rang. I pulled it out of my pocket and saw it was Zoe. I hit ignore, figuring I'd call her later. "Hey Wade, Billy just dropped off a bunch of stuff. I started going over it compared to the list, but I've never done inventory before so I wanted to make sure I wasn't messing it up."

"Sure," I nodded. "Let's head back there and see what we've got."

We had barely gotten into the back room that was just off from the kitchen, when my phone went off again. "Hey Wanda, gimme a sec," I told her when I saw it was Zoe again.

I headed towards the front of the bar to take the call. "Doc? Everything okay?"

"Yea, it's just... people know."

"People know... what?"

"About us. About being engaged."

"Zoe, you're just being paranoid no one-"

"I forgot to take off my ring and both Brick and Addie saw it."

"And you didn't try to concoct some completely unbelievable story for people to get so confused by they forget what they originally suspected?" I teased, thinking back to how often she'd done just that.

"Shut up. No. I couldn't think of anything. I like, froze with fear or something."

"Fear of..."

"I don't know Wade, just fear! Sheesh. The point is, they know, so soon more people may know."

"Am I denying it or what?" Who knew what the crazy girl wanted me to do with this information.

"No, I mean, I don't know. Do you want to? Should we?"

I laughed. "Doc, you're the one that wanted to wait. I don't care if we tell people today, tomorrow, or after we've said 'I do'."

She took a deep breath. "Okay, I guess... we're telling people. But mainly because I wound up telling Addie and Brick already."

"Okay, telling people it is."

"Alright, well I need to get going. Love you."

"Love you," I repeated before hanging up the phone. She was a crazy person. My sexy, amazing, crazy girlfriend.

And the town was about to find out that we were getting married.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Okay so I know I'm the WORST. But life got in the way (new job, new city, new... well, lots o'things). Anyway here's the next chapter and I'm almost halfway done with the next one so hoping to post it by this Sunday. Also, this hasn't had a good read through – still looking for a beta, hint hint – so apologies for typos. Reviews and feedback make my day:)

ZPOV

There was no reason for me to be this anxious. It wasn't like I regretted saying yes. It just felt like a whirlwind. First he proposes. Then we agree not to say anything. Then I'm an idiot and forget my ring... and BAM!

I was literally in a constant swing between professionalism and panic attack. I had five patients scheduled for the day, which I saw as a good thing since it would keep me distracted. But even though I'd walked in closer to noon than nine, by one o'clock half the town was in the office wanting details.

"Did he get down on one knee?"

"How did he propose?"

"Did you see it coming?"

"Are you upset he didn't get you a new ring?"

"When is the big day?"

"Have you two talked about children?"

"Where are you getting married?"

"Who's going to be your maid of honor?"

"You know Zoe Hart, you and Wade aren't allowed to elope. We all expect an invite."

And that was just the tip of the iceberg to the questions I was inundated with. An hour later I wasn't even sure which questions I'd answered, much less what I actually answered with. It wasn't long after the one hour mark that I hit my breaking point and told Brick I was going home for the day.

"That's a good thing too, get right to the planning!" Shula encouraged as I headed for the door.

"Yep! That's _exactly_ what I'm going to do," I shouted over my shoulder. It was pure sarcasm, although I was pretty sure it was lost on her.

I considered going to see Wade, but thought better of it. He had enough going on with the opening, so I headed back to the carriage house, speed walking past townsfolk shouting out a mix of congratulations and questions that I wasn't ready to answer.

When I got home it took me less than five minutes to get into my pjs with a glass of wine. I just needed to relax. The wedding didn't have to be soon. It didn't have to be a huge affair. It didn't have to have the entire town as an audience... did it?

I chugged my first glass of wine like it was water then poured a second glass before making my way to bed. I sat the glass on my nightstand and threw the comforter over my head, burrowing under the covers. A nap would quell the headache and memories of the onslaught I'd just experienced.

It felt like only a few minutes had passed when the sound of the squeaky front door stirred me awake.

"Zoe?" Wade hollered from the foyer. I didn't respond figuring he'd come in anyway. He did, standing in the doorway looking amused. "You okay doc?"

I nodded, slowly sitting up and leaning against the headboard. "Uh huh." He walked towards me and sat on the side of the bed, inches away. "I went to see if you needed a ride home and Barb from the pet store stopped me before I even got to your office and told me you'd gone home to start planning the wedding." I nodded. "Yep. I already made one decision," I validated, nodding my head.

"This should be good," he smirked, twisting so his hands were resting on the bed on either side of my hips.

"Our wedding will have wine. Lots and lots of wine."

He laughed and nodded, leaning in to kiss me. "Good think you're marrying someone with connections to bulk alcohol suppliers."

I took a deep breath, moving my hand up to the side of his neck and followed his lips as he pulled back. He smiled under the kiss and moved back, getting the hint I wasn't ready to stop. I laid down and he followed, hovering over me as we kissed like two people that had all the time in the world.

"I must have gotten a hundred questions from people about us and the wedding in the couple of hours I was at work. I felt like I was a defendant on the stand," I told him as his mouth trailed down the side of my neck.

"You'll be okay tonight," he murmured as he pushed the strap of my tank top to the side and kissed over my shoulder. "Everyone can divert their questions to me."

"Oh?" I asked, raising an eyebrow skeptically. "This is your big debut and I don't think you understand the amount of questions that will be fired at you."

He lifted his head, looking at me. "Well I'm already prepared when someone asks if we're having a dry wedding," he teased, leaning down to kiss me again.

I rolled my eyes, grinning. "More than one. I'm not sure if I answered the question of how you proposed."

"Drunk and slurring," he smirked.

"Don't forget shirtless."

"That's a given."

I laughed and pulled him closer for another kiss. How he was able to relax me so easily, I'd never know. But as someone that had always been wound up like a jack in the box ready to pop, I wasn't planning on ever questioning it.

"Don't forget that I only did it because you're pregnant," he said between kisses.

"Oh god, don't even joke about saying that."

"With triplets?" He challenged, raising an eyebrow. My hands drifted down to his jeans, popping the button and sliding my hand inside his boxers. My hand wrapping around his shaft and he sucked in a breath.

"Shut up," I said as I started moving my hand up and down. Not only had he calmed me down, but he'd made me more confident in the bedroom – to the point that I was getting more and more comfortable initiating things.

"Yes ma'am," he agreed, leaning down and kissing me hard.

We changed positions three times, rolling over on my bed so much that I was surprised we didn't fall off. Our bodies were slick with sweat as we finally peaked. His forehead dropped to my shoulders as we both panted, sucking in as much air as quickly as we could. One of his hands continued to slide up and down my leg slowly. Once his breath had steadied, he rolled over onto his back beside me and shook his head. "Lord woman," he sighed.

I turned to look at him, still trying to slow my heart rate. "What?"

"You're gonna kill me off before we even set a date."

"Kill _you_ off?" I scoffed. "Who was the one that kept slowing down every time I got close?"

"Close to?" He smirked. He was making fun of me because I was a doctor and still couldn't say it out loud.

"You know."

"Do I though?"

"Yes, you do."

"Well wasn't it worth it? Me not letting you _orgasm_ right out the gate?"

"Besides the point."

He laughed and pulled me over him. "I think that's what they call winning an argument."

I rolled my eyes and shifted off of him, scooting off the bed. "I need to start getting ready for tonight.

Speaking of," I said, turning to look at him as I slid my bathrobe on and cinched it at my waist. "Aren't you supposed to be at the bar?"

He sat up and nodded. "Yea, I just took a break."

"An hour and a half long break?"

He swung his legs off the bed and reached for his boxers. "That's the benefit of being the boss. I can take long lunches."

"It's..." I turned, looking at the clock. "Five-thirty. Hardly lunch."

"Fine," he shrugged, walking over to me and kissing the top of my head. "Afternoon delight," he chuckled.

I couldn't help but laugh as I pivoted to look at him. I stood on my toes, letting my lips linger on his.

"What was that for?"

"That's just in case I don't get to do it later. I know it's going to be a mad house."

"Doc, you bet your ass I'm going to be doing that every chance I get tonight. I don't care how busy the damn place is."

I fought to hide the smile that was threatening to take over my entire face. I was still getting used to the PDA, but hell if I wouldn't take him up on it tonight – especially if it got us out of answering questions.

He threw on his t-shirt and hopped his way back into his pants. "Hey will you stop by before we officially open?" He asked as he zipped up his jeans.

"Sure, what time?"

"I don't know, say seven?"

"I'll be there," I smiled. I doubted I'd ever be able to convey how proud I was of him and everything he'd accomplished. "Are we still doing dinner?"

"Shit," he blurted out, leaning his head back. "I'll grab something at Lavon's before I head over. We can eat at the bar?"

I laughed lightly and nodded. "Sounds good."

"Don't say that just yet. I'm planning on making sandwiches."

"Like I said," I began, wrapping my arms around his waist. "Sounds good. Just no mayo."

"I think I can swing that," he agreed, cupping my face in his hands and giving me a quick kiss. "See you at seven. Love you."

I beamed. "Back 'atcha."

He laughed under his breath and jogged out of the house, shoes in hand.

WPOV

I left Zoe's feeling a thousand times more relaxed than I had all day.

Truth be told, I was nervous as hell. I'd never put effort into, well, _anything_ before and so opening the bar was a really fucking big deal. I knew I had the town and Zoe behind me but it was still a big deal. I'd borrowed money I didn't know how I'd pay back if the place went bust. I knew Zoe would get the long hours, being a doctor and all but between my schedule and her fellowship it was hard not to add how this was all going to impact our relationship, to the list.

I made my way over to Lavon's and made a couple turkey sandwiches and grabbed a bag of chips for the road. By the time I got back to the bar there wasn't much left to do. Wanda had finished the inventory after I'd spent a couple of hours going over the process earlier in the day.

"You're gonna do great Wade," she said encouragingly as I sat in the back looking over the list she'd put together and starting to add up the numbers.

"Thanks Wanda," I said, smiling up at her. "Why don't you head home and rest for a bit. We're not opening up shop til eight."

"You sure? I don't mind staying."

I nodded. "Yea, I'm sure. But thanks."

"Sure thing," she nodded heading for where her jean jacket was hanging.

I had about an hour to myself. I wrapped up crunching the numbers on inventory then made my way around the bar, starting on a pot of coffee before going between the two rooms. I tested out the pinball machine for a bit, then changed into the white button down and black slacks I'd brought with me. What? It was the grand opening, I felt like a little fancy was in order. I had just put on some AC/DC over the jukebox and was flipping through the selections when I heard a knock on the window.

Zoe. The doc was early – who knew that was even possible?

I walked over and unlocked the door, stepping aside to let her in before closing it back up.

"Sorry I'm early," she smiled. "I finished getting ready and was restless. I can help out if you're in the middle of something."

She looked beautiful, as usual. But in a thin black lace dress that was so low cut it almost went past the bottom of her boobs and so short that if she bent down I was pretty sure anyone walking by would get a peek at her underwear, there wasn't much she'd be able to do.

"Nothin left to do," I shrugged. "Plus wearing that there's not much you'd be able to help with."

"Why?" She asked, looking down at her dress. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"Absolutely nothing," I said, moving to wrap my arms around her tiny waist. "In fact I can't wait see it in a ball on my floor. But it's not exactly something you wear when you have to clean up a bar or move boxes of liquor."

She rolled her eyes, not pushing the issue. "Where's dinner Mr. Business Owner, I'm starving."

I laughed, dropping my arms and heading for the bar. I moved behind the counter and watched her hop onto a stool. This was familiar, just like the million times we'd done this at the Rammer Jammer. I bent down, pulling the sandwiches from the mini-fridge under the bar where I was also storing a few bottle of white wine.

"Turkey on wheat with lettuce, tomato, and cheddar," I announced, opening the Tupperware lid and sliding it in her direction.

"You know just what to say," she grinned.

"Oh, I'm not done yet." I turned, grabbing the pot of coffee and pouring her a cup, before reaching for her brown sugar.

"I knew there was a reason I agreed to this whole wedding thing," she laughed, dumping spoonfuls of sugar into her steaming cup.

From there we started eating and as we got closer and closer to finishing our sandwiches I was getting worried when the chatty doc hadn't said a word. She had been looking from me to her dinner with a nervous smile for the past five minutes. "Okay, what's up?" I finally asked, putting my sandwich down when I had a few bites left.

"What? Nothing." She shrugged.

"When you go more than two minutes without a word, it's either because we're having sex or you're mad about something." At the word "sex" she blushed and I fought against my reflexes not to laugh.

"Neither."

"So what's going on?" I asked, crossing my arms and leaning against the bar. "You know bartenders are known for being excellent at listening."

She rolled her eyes. "There are exceptions," she smirked back. Finally she took a deep breath and put her sandwich down. "Fine, and this has absolutely nothing to do with this," she said, pointing to the ring on her finger. "I've been wanting to ask you for a few days, but we've both been super busy and stressed..."

Sometimes getting shit outta here took longer than herding cats. "So spill. What have you been dying to ask me?"

She bit her lip and took a mouthful of her sandwich. She said words but they were garbled by her chomping on her dinner.

"What's that now?"

She swallowed and pushed her plate of remaining food to the side. "I was thinking we could go to New York for Christmas."

I finally understood the saying _ignorance is bliss._ That was not at all what I was expecting to come out of her mouth. "New York?"

"Yea, we could even do like the 22nd til the morning of the 25th then fly down and spend Christmas day with Earl and do the friends-Christmas like last year."

I looked at her like she was crazy. Mostly because she was. "But you didn't go home last year."

"Yea, and my mom gave me hell for it when I was there over the summer." She reached over, tugging one of my arms so she could put her hand on top of mine. "Plus, it would be your first white Christmas," She said, clearly trying to persuade me.

"Zoe, I hate the cold," I reminded her. "What else you got?"

"C'mon Wade," she whined. "Two days, three tops. You think I actually want to be there for an extended amount of time?"

"I don't know doc, I didn't think you wanted to be there period."

She sighed and leaned forward. "Please?" She whispered kissing me lightly. "Pretty please." She kissed me again and this time I didn't let her lips go so easily. My hand that she'd been holding reached up to the side of her neck as I dragged the kiss on. "Two days," I murmured against her lips, not opening my eyes. "And we're back for Christmas."

"Deal," she said. I felt her smile against me and I opened my eyes to find hers still shut. They reopened as I leaned back.

"Are we planning on New Orleans for New Year's again?" I remembered clear as a summer's day that we'd vowed to do it between shots the year before, but I wasn't sure if she had the same memory.

"Duh," she grinned, sitting back on the barstool. "We agreed to do it last year."

"Okay, but I'm handling the hotel and stuff this year."

She looked at me tight lipped, and I rolled my eyes. "My Christmas gift again?"

"It's just I knew how busy you'd be with the bar and everything, and I didn't want to add that to your plate on top of everything. Plus," she shrugged, putting on an innocent face. "I wanted to pick the hotel."

I laughed and shook my head. Of course she did. "Well doc, thank you for the great gift – again."

She laughed quietly and hopped off her barstool, heading for the game room. I followed her and watched her smile as she moved around the room. "This looks amazing."

"You saw it like three days ago," I pointed out. It looked pretty much the same, aside from the floor being freshly scrubbed down.

She looked at one of the corners where a table and two chairs were parked. She turned around to face me, crossing her arms and looking upset. "Where's my shrine?"

I shook my head, laughing. She was crazy and I couldn't believe she remembered. I closed the distance between us and wrapped my arms around her. "That's only going up when you're out of town for good."

"Motive to bail?" She teased, sliding her arms up and around my neck.

If I hadn't been 100% sure she was kidding, I wouldn't have been able to hide the dread at even the thought. It was hard enough losing her once, I couldn't imagine going through it again.

"Fine, fine, I'll _work on_ getting the damn thing put together. But it may take awhile, like thirty, forty years..." I trailed off, dipping my head down to kiss her. She pulled herself against me as we stood there kissing like we didn't have a bar to open in half an hour. Before I knew it, I had her pinned against the wall, beside the table that was getting in the way of her shrine, and I had her skimpy dress up passed her hips.

"Wade," she breathed as my fingers hooked into her underwear. Not gonna lie, the thought of christening this place had popped into my head a time or twenty, but her tone made it clear it wasn't going to happen just yet. "We have to stop. People will be showing up soon."

My head dropped to her shoulder, frustrated, and I nodded. She was right and I hated it.

She smiled against my temple, one of her hands rubbing the back of my neck. "Later though."

I lifted my head and smirked. "Damn straight later."

She rolled her eyes and pushed me back a little so she could have some space. She wiggled her dress back down and looked around. "Bathroom?" I pointed to just before the sliding door to the back patio that was just set up with a few tables for now. "Right side."

By the time I had calmed downstairs Wade down, and Zoe had reemerged a few folks had already wandered in. Dash arrived first. He claimed to want to document every second of the grand opening from the first person til the last person left. I had my doubts he'd last til 1AM, but more power to him for wanting to try.

"Zoe!" Dash yelled as she walked through the doorway separating the two rooms. She looked startled but put on her best smile. "Hey Dash."

"Zoe how does it feel to be engaged to a business owner?" He asked, pushing his tape recorder in her face.

"Um, great I guess," she shrugged."I always knew he could do it, and that he would when he felt the time was right. I'm so proud of him." I looked down at the floor, grinning like an idiot. She had always believed in me, god knows why. And even though Dash's online column was read by _maybe_ fifty people, the fact that she'd go on record with that stuff was fucking awesome.

"So he must have known the time was right when he asked you to marry him. How did that all happen? And remember readers of my blog are huge fans of you two, so the more details the better."

"Hey, Dash!" I hollered, getting his attention. "How about we lay off the engagement questions for a sec."

Surprisingly Dash nodded without throwing a fit. "Fine, we can put that on hold." He turned back to Zoe, the mic back to being inches from her mouth. "So Zoe, how do you feel about your fiancee opening up a competitor to the Rammer Jammer where he's worked for close to ten years? Are you okay with knowing that his _dream_ as you put it, is likely to lead to the Rammer Jammer, practically a Bluebell historic landmark, to shut its doors?"

"Umm.." She looked like a deer caught in the headlights. This town had no need for hard hitting questions like that. It was like he was intentionally trying to get a rise out of her – and me.

"Dash, if people are that in love with the Rammer Jammer, they can keep going there. No one's holding a gun to their heads," I answered for her.

"Can I quote you on that?" He asked, approaching me at the bar.

"Sure," I shrugged. "And let's set you up with a drink. You'll be famous at this place – the first person to order a drink."

"Oh hmm, what about a lemonade?"

"A hard lemonade?"

He sighed. "I suppose, if a plain one isn't available." I heard him mutter something about the service and tried not to laugh as I pulled some non-alcoholic lemonade from one of the mini-fridges and handed the glass to him. "One lemonade, no liquor," I announced. "Oh, wonderful!" He declared, taking a sip. "You know, this tastes awfully like the one at the Rammer Jammer.

"Probably because I made those to," I suggested. "Just a guess."

He shot me side eye before moving to a table. As he grabbed a seat by the far wall, a few other people trickled in, including Wanda.

And boy was I glad she showed. Not even ten minutes after she wrapped an apron around her waist a gust of people blew in, and before I knew it both she and I were racing back and forth making drinks. It had been awhile since I'd had to serve this many people at once. I was used to the small groups that nursed drinks for hours.

I tried to sneak peeks at Zoe while hustling up and down the bar. Sometimes I was able to catch a glimpse, but most of the time she was lost in a sea of tall people. "The day has finally arrived," Lavon observed as he finally made his way up to the bar. "Wade's is open for business."

"Yes sir," I said quickly, wiping my forehead with my forearm. I was cursing myself for not wearing a t-shirt, rolling my sleeves up to my elbows wasn't cutting it. "You haven't seen Zoe around have you?" I asked, leaning in. "She's so damn short I'm having a hard time finding her in this crowd."

"Yea," he nodded, scanning the sea of people. I really had no idea this many people even lived in Bluebell, let alone would come out after sunset. "A few minutes ago. Some of the salon ladies were giving her marriage advice. That was my cue to leave."

Ugh. I had promised that I'd divert all that crap away from her. "Alright, well I'll try and find her once things calm down. What can I get you?"

"Uh.. a long island I guess," he said sounding unsure.

"Okay, but I don't want the mayor going down in infamy for being the first one to puke in my bar," I warned.

"Ha. Ha." He shot back sarcastically. "One isn't gonna floor me. Have you seen how big I am?"

"Yes, and you handle liquor like someone a quarter of your size."

"Hey!" He scowled, though it's worth noting that he didn't argue my point.

"SPEECH! SPEECH! SPEECH!" I hear someone start to chant in the group huddled in the main room. The chants continued as I finished making Lavon's drink. What the hell was I supposed to say? Thanks for showing up, spend some money and get shitfaced?

"SPEECH! SPEECH!" The shouts continued, getting louder as more people joined in.

"SLOW DOWN PEOPLE, I GOT THIS!" I heard Zoe shout above the crowd. A few seconds later, I finally saw her. She was standing on one of the tables in the center of the room. I was shocked she was doing this – she wasn't exactly know for her public speaking or public speeches. Well, she was, but more infamous than famous. What made it even more surprising was she seemed completely sober. She held up a glass of white wine and looked around the room.

"I'll keep this brief before I fall off the table or say something completely inappropriate, which, let's face it, is more than likely going to happen." Everyone laughed and I heard mutterings of agreement.

"I think we can all say that this day was meant to happen eventually," she started, her eyes meeting mine and I grinned. For me at least, the words had a double meaning. I knew she and I would get here, and I had hoped that the bar would too. "While Wade has grown and shown us that he is not only able to make an excellent drink, or brew an amazing pot of coffee, but can literally build a bar from the ground up, he is still the same guy we all know and love. He's the guy that will make sure everyone at last call has a way to get home, and the best person to go to for a drink when you need to escape it." A few people chuckled and nodded in agreement. She was doing damn good for being so awful at speaking to crowds. "So Wade," she continued, looking at me again and raising her glass higher. Everyone else mimicked and a sea of glasses lifted into the air as some people turned to face me. God this was embarrassing. "On behalf of everyone here, and everyone that's not, congratulations. We wish _Wade's_ nothing but success, and we love you. To Wade."

"TO WADE!" Everyone echoed before taking a drink. I lifted my hand in thanks, smiling bashfully. This was fucking ridiculous. Everyone needed to get back to their drinks.

The night wore on, and it was past 11 when the good doc finally made her way up to the bar. "Hello there," she smiled.

"Hey," I grinned, sliding a beer over to Jackson, the new mortician in town. I crossed my arms and leaned them against the bar, giving myself a five minute break. "That was some speech you made."

"What can I say? I was feeling inspired," she smiled right back. "Plus it got me out of a conversation about the wedding." She paused, squinting and tilting her head to the side, looking like she was rethinking what she'd just said. "Actually, it wasn't a conversation so much as being talked _at_. I think that's a better way of describing it."

"Yea, I'm sorry I couldn't be a buffer. I really didn't think so many people would show." I still couldn't believe almost all of the town was still hanging around. I had figured at least half of them would've turned into pumpkins by now.

She laughed a little and rolled her eyes. "Yea, apologize for being a success Wade."

"So have ya'll talked about a date? Personally, fall is my recommendation," Peggy from the Butterstick asked, interrupting our conversation. "It's not too cold, but it's not hot enough to bring out the crazies, if you get what I'm saying."

Zoe turned to look at me, clearly not getting what she was saying.

"No we haven't set a date, but we'll think on your idea," I told her as nicely as I could, glad I could steer the answer away from the doc at least once. "Another rum and coke?"

"Don't mind if I do," she smiled, sliding her glass my way.

I poured her a quick drink, not taking my eyes off Zoe. It was the first time I'd gotten to talk to her since the masses descended on the place and I wanted at least another few minutes.

"So tonight is turning into a massive success," she grinned, looking out towards the huge crowd that was lingering.

"It's a good turnout."

"You should tell Wanda to cut Lavon off though. I saw him playing pool and he's nursing his third long island."

I groaned and nodded. "Thanks for the head's up. I'll let her know. I told him I didn't want him puking at the bar on day one."

"Yea, you'll definitely need to fill any more drinks with just caffeine, then." She paused, leaning towards the doorway that divided the two rooms. "Maybe I should go check on him."

"What's that?" I asked, fully hearing her the first time.

"I should go back there and make sure he's okay," she repeated, leaning over the bar a little. I smirked and leaned forward, cupping her neck and pulling her to meet my lips. She smiled and started to pull away, but I pulled her right back. "Nuh-uh," I hummed rather than said, against her mouth. She laughed into the kiss and I grinned. I couldn't believe I'd get to kiss her whenever I wanted for the rest of my damn life.

A few people around us started whistling, practically cheering us on. That was when I pulled back and saw Zoe's face turn almost beet red with embarrassment. I chuckled as she sat back into her seat.

"You are one lucky girl," I heard a familiar voice say before I saw her break through the crowd. For fucks sake.

Zoe turned to the girl and smile. "Yea, I guess I am." Way to feed that confidence doc. "I'm sorry," she said, looking from the blonde that had moved to stand beside her, to me, and back again. "Have we met?"

"Not officially, although you might know me from Wade," she smiled, extending her hand. "I'm Denise."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Did I say weeks? I meant over a year and a half…And no matter how much time passes, these characters will always belong to the CW/not me.

ZPOV

Seriously. I mean, _seriously_? This is the girl that Wade slept with when I was in New York? She could pass for Kate Upton's identical twin. She was so hot _I'd_ sleep with her.

It took me a sec, but I shook her hand. "Yea, he has. Nice to meet you," I said, trying to sound genuine instead of shocked. She had more curves above her ribcage than I did in my entire body. Wade definitely had a type – the complete opposite of me – blonde, leggy, Kardashian hour glass shape. And I hated that I felt jealous when I had no right to. We weren't together at the time, and it had seemed so far from reality when Wade had told me in Mobile. But _actually_ seeing her, seeing that this Denise person was, well, _a_ _person,_ drove it home and made it more real.

She and I both turned to look at Wade who had a tight-lipped deer-in-the-headlights expression. "So, what can I get you to drink?" He asked looking at her but glancing at me out of the corner of his eye. I could be the mature one here. I could put on my big girl pants and not try to think of how she must have rocked Wade's world. I could...

Fuck it.

"I'm gonna head back there," I announced, pointing towards the other room. It was an awkward situation, and as the queen of exacerbating awkward situations, I had to escape before I did something completely fucking ridiculous. Wade's face fell a little and he looked confused. "You sure?" He asked as he slid the beer towards the one-night-stand (is that mean? It's mean. Fuck it she slept with my boyfriend – I don't care that technically we weren't together at that point) without even looking at her. "You don't have to. We're just wrapping up here. That'll be four bucks by the way," he said to Denise, barely acknowledging her.

"Yea, I'm sure. I'm gonna go check on Lavon. I'll be back in a few," I told him, trying to sound as casual as possible.

I pushed through the crowd that was forming behind me to get a drink and made my way towards the doorway that led towards the back room where I could hear Lavon shouting that someone was cheating. Oh brother.

"Hey," I heard Wade say behind me as a hand wrapped around my wrist. I turned around, giving him the best smile I could muster.

"You okay?"

"Yea, totally," I brushed off.

"I didn't invite her," he defended pointing back towards the bar. "No idea whatsoever that she even knew I was opening a bar."

"I know," I nodded, my body relaxing a bit. Of course I knew that he hadn't explicitly invited her, but for some reason I found myself only feeling reassured when he said it.

"So, we're good?" He asked, sounding more serious.

I nodded again. "We're good."

"Good," he grinned, moving his hand from my wrist to my cheek and leaning down to kiss me. It was something between a peck and one that could escalate quickly into something that left neither of us with underwear on. Of course, considering we were in a bar full of people the latter option was definitely not going to happen, but it was amusing to consider the possibility.

"What was that for?" I asked, feeling my cheeks get hot as he pulled back.

"I told you doc," he smirked. "I'm gonna do that every chance I get."

I rolled my eyes, biting back a smile. "I'm gonna go check on our friend over there," I said, motioning behind me with a thumb.

He nodded, laughing as he pushed his lips against mine again. I couldn't help but laugh into the kiss.

He headed back to the bar and I headed for the pool table where Lavon was leaning forward against the pool table.

"Z!" He shouted as I approached where him and a few people I barely recognized, were standing around the pool table with cues. "You can be our ref."

"Your what now?"

"Our ref," he repeated. "A few of these Bluebellians are cheating. You can be the zebra that monitors them," he instructed pointing his finger at each of the people playing.

"For fuck's sake Lavon, we're _not_ cheating!" One of them argued. "Zoe, he's just off his face and scratching every other turn and missing all the others."

"The mayor of Bluebell is absolutely not wasted! He is in his right mind!" Lavon shouted.

Oh god, he was talking in third person.

"C'mon Mayor," I said, taking the pool stick out of his hand. "Walk me home."

"What? Why're you leaving? What about Wade's big grand opening? Did he do something? Do I need to bitch slap him? Cuz I'll do it... I've been-"

"No, he didn't do anything," I interrupted before he said something in front of everyone that he'd regret later. Although I was pretty sure he already had. If I was right, there was no reason to add more to the list. "I just need to grab my phone charger," I lied, tugging at his arm. He needed to get home ASAP.

"Fine, but then we're coming back." He turned to look at the group that was still lingering around the table. "And then I'm whoopin' each of your asses at this damn game!"

The guys around the table waved off his failed attempt at a threat, and we headed outside. I didn't look back at Wade. Part of me knew I had nothing to worry about, and yet that tiny part of me, the part that was self-conscious because I wasn't tall, blonde, or had anything in common with him (at face value), still wondered how he could be attracted to someone like me when literally every girl I'd seen him with before had been the polar opposite.

We walked back at a snail's pace, and I was counting my lucky stars that Lavon was walking on his own. I wasn't sure how I would've handled it if he'd needed a crutch for the entire walk home.

"You know I love ya Zoe, but I'm not going to wear a dress," he mumbled as we headed just out of the town square.

"What?" I asked, puffing out a laugh and looking at him.

"For the weddin'. I know I'm your best friend and all, but please don't make me be the maid of honor," he pleaded. And by his tone, he was completely serious.

"I don't know Lavon, I'll want you to stand up for one of us and if Wade decides he wants Jesse as his best man…" I trailed off, teasing him. "What if I let you pick the dress?"

He stopped, closing one eye then blinking and closing the other, as if trying to test his vision. "Hm."

I bit back a laugh at him considering it.

"Can we compromise on a pantsuit?"

"Can it be paisley?" I challenged, trying not to laugh. I would never have anyone in my wedding party wear paisley, but this was too easy.

He scrunched up his face before turning to me and extending his hand. "As long as it doesn't have neon in it."

I puffed out the giggle I'd been holding in and shook his hand. "You've got a deal."

"Good," he nodded, shaking in return. He paused and took a deep breath. "No shaking things. Shaking things, especially heads, bad."

"Mhm," I agreed. "C'mon, we're almost home."

We turned, and I listened to him as he spent the rest of the walk home talking about AB and how she was the best woman he'd ever been with, that he doubted why the hell she was with him – his insecurities that I didn't know he had, shining brightly.

"AB loves you," I said as we approached the carriage house.

"Yea," he agreed reluctantly. "I'm just not sure that between all of our baggage, we'll ever get to where –" he stopped abruptly, pivoting just quick enough to hurl onto the dirt patch just beside the side of the house.

The surprising sound almost had me gagging myself, but I kept it together. I walked over to him, rubbing his back while trying to keep out of the puke zone.

It was a while before he stopped gagging and was okay enough to stumble up the stairs to the carriage house. We headed inside, and he flopped onto my bed. "What the hell are she and I doing if we can't get there, Z?"

"Get where," I asked, walking into the bathroom to grab some towels and a bucket in case his stomach started churning again.

" _There_ ," he emphasized, as if that would clarify things. "With a ring and a wedding march." I smiled faintly, even though Lavon's eyes were closed. I wanted them to work; they were amazing together and it was crystal clear how happy they made each other. But their 'baggage', i.e. Lemon, would be hard to shake – especially if they stayed in Bluebell.

But it's not like the mayor can up and move away from the town that he… mayors over. "You'll get there," I encouraged, walking over to the small mini-fridge I'd started keeping bottled waters in.

"Maybe you and AB," – I stopped myself as I turned around with a bottle of water for Lavon, only to hear him start puking again. "Should go on vacation…" I finished, letting the sentence hang in the air, as I walked over to rub his back and calm him down. For all of the would be/could be drama between Wade and I, we'd never had to overcome anything as unwieldy as Lemon Breeland.

And for that I was thankful.

WPOV

As it got closer and closer to midnight without the sight of Zoe, I started to wonder if Denise showing up had fucked shit up more than she'd let on. With how quickly she had bolted it was obvious she was upset but avoiding me wasn't any better than fighting – especially on opening night of this place.

The night wore on and as people started heading home for the night, I was half crushed, and half pissed as hell. The bar being so packed made it easy to forget that I had no idea where the doc had gone, but every second that I had a moment to breathe I was searching the crowd for her or asking someone walking by if they'd seen her.

And every person that shrugged or shook their head just made my blood boil that much more. This was re-damn-diculous. I hadn't kept Denise from Zoe, she knew all about her. I was committed to Zoe and she fucking knew that, hell I'd put a damn right on her finger.

The crowd started to thin out in bigger droves and I was getting less worried, and more downright pissed off. She knew how big of a deal tonight was and it was fucking insane that she was in a tizzy about seeing some girl I had slept with once – when we weren't even together.

When I shouted for last call at 12:45AM Benny and his wife were pretty much the only folks that remained. They were a couple that had sold their farm and decided to move into town a few months ago to enjoy retirement without all of the hard work that went into growing corn. Benny had taken up drinking as a past-time and his wife, Janette, had taken up knitting at the bar beside him.

"Alright folks, it looks about that time," I said as I started to wipe tables down. "We'll be opening back up in about nine hours."

Janette nodded, starting to pack up her things. "It was a good opening Wade," she smiled. "Too bad I didn't get to talk to Zoe much about the wedding. But I'll catch her another time."

"Yep," I snipped back. Hopefully I'd catch her another time too.

I watched as Janette helped her husband off the stool. He wasn't belligerent, but old age, the late hour, and a few double whiskeys were enough to throw off his equilibrium.

"Night Wade," Benny half-shouted as he threw up a hand, waving me goodbye as they headed for the door.

"Have a good night Benny. Get home safe."

"We will dear," Janette answered for him.

I locked up behind them and went to cash out the register. It took a bit longer than I was used to as I was distracted by thoughts of the doc and where the fuck she'd run off to.

"Alright, we're all packed up. Do you mind if I take off? I need to check on Tom and get some zzz's before opening tomorrow," Wanda said as she started untying her half apron.

"Sure. Thanks again for working tonight. I'm hoping we can get at least two more folks to help out in the next few weeks. I know Ricky has offered to help with orders during peak times."

"That'll be nice. Plus, Tom has offered to be a chef. He makes a mean chicken pot pie."

I tried to picture him in the kitchen and could only envision the sound of pots dropping and a massive fire. "I'll think about that. Maybe we could get him out with the people."

"Oh, he'd love that even more," she said putting a hand on my forearm. We could put on skits while people were eating – a real dinner n' a show feel."

Oh lord. "Well why don't you get home to that man of yours. I'll wrap up here."

"Okay. Don't stay too late."

"I won't."

She headed out and I heard a muffled conversation before the door finally shut.

My back was towards the doorway, and I was crouched down putting the night's earnings into the safe when I heard a familiar voice. "Am I too late for last call?"

I froze for a minute before I dropped the envelope into the steel safe and shut it closed. "I'm afraid you are." I stood up, noticing that Zoe had done a wardrobe change and was in one of my white t-shirts and a pair of jean shorts that hit just above her knees. "I thought you took off for the night."

"No," she said, shaking her head and walking over to me slowly, almost hesitantly. "I took Lavon home and he wasn't feeling too hot. It took longer than I'd anticipated."

"And yet you found time to do a costume change," I observed, heading out to the main room.

"I smelled like vomit, plus, you said I couldn't help wearing the dress I was in, and I wanted to be useful when you closed up."

"So you changed so you could help me do manual labor?" I chuckled, looking over at her.

"Yea," she nodded, visibly relaxing as she walked around to stand in front of me. "And I'm sorry."

"For what exactly?" I asked crossing my arms. I wasn't gonna make this easy for her.

"For not being here for every second of tonight," she lamented. "And for getting weird when Denise showed up."

"Jealous. You got jealous," I corrected.

"Can you blame me Wade? I mean," – she stopped herself midsentence. "You're right. I was jealous."

"And you know that's completely ridiculous right?" I smirked. "I ain't marrying Denise. You're the only one that has one of these," I said, taking her hand in mine and tapping the finger that had my family's ring on it.

"I know," she exhaled, moving closer. I took a step backwards, moving to sit on one of the tables, and pulling her to stand between my legs.

"Tonight was a big deal doc. And you weren't around for most of it…" I trailed off. Her face fell and I could tell she genuinely felt awful.

"I'm so sorry Wade."

"I do believe, there is one thing, and one thing only, that will fix this evening," I deadpanned.

"You name it. I can wash the floors, I'll take orders – well, you know, when I'm not at the practice – for a month, I'll –"

I couldn't help but chuckle at the punishments she was dishing out to herself.

"Nah doc," I murmured against her lips. "I believe I was rain-checked for a christening of this place, earlier…"

Her arms slid around me, and she grinned. "You aren't tired from tonight?"

"Oh, I'm exhausted. But I'm not planning on doing any of the work…" I swallowed her laugh in a kiss and felt her melt against me. Even after all this time, I could still feel the exact moment her body relaxed against mine, each time she was done joking around and was ready for things to shift, to escalate.

Tonight was ending exactly how I had hoped it would, with a successful opening night, and my lady in my arms.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thanks for sticking with the story! Reviews keep me motivated, so keep 'em coming. Obviously still don't own the characters, but that should go without saying. Onto the next chapter :)

 **ZPOV**

The sound of my blaring phone woke me at what felt like the crack of dawn. I groaned, reaching for it and picking it up without recognizing the number. "Hello," I greeted trying not to sound like the person had woke me up.

"Oh good you're awake!" A voice I recognized but couldn't place, responded cheerfully. "This is Dawn, from the Butterstick. I was wondering if you and Wade wanted to schedule some time for cake testing?"

"Dawn," I said more to jog my memory than anything. "I appreciate it," I said pulling my phone away from my ear to check the time. "But it's just after 6AM and Wade is still asleep. Is it okay if we call you back when we've had a chance to talk it over?"

"Oh sure thing! Just give me a ring or drop on by. I have a ton of ideas. We could go with a traditional cake, or mini pies, or tarts! Tarts would be great for a spring -"

"We'll definitely give you a call back," I interrupted.

"Oh, okay. Yep, just give us a holler."

"Okay great, thanks. Have a nice day," I managed to get out before hanging up.

I felt Wade stir beside me and half mumble into the pillow. "Who the hell is calling you this early?"

"Dawn from the Butterstick. She wants us to taste test baked goods for the wedding," I said, laying back down and pulling the covers back around me. I yawned and felt one of his arms reach for me and pull me closer effortlessly. I turned so my back was towards him and he readjusted against me. I loved how we just... fit. I laced my fingers with his as they rested on my stomach.

"She wanted us to come in now?" He murmured, already sounding like he was drifting off.

"Mhm," I yawned, feeling myself drift off. "You know, at least it was a better wake up than the sound of my alarm playing _Highway to Hell_."

He placed a kiss on the top of my head. "Well maybe for the Valentine's Day my gift will be letting you change it."

"Or Christmas?"

"Nah, I'm not ready to go back to waking up to whiney pop music just yet."

"It's not whiney," I argued weakly.

There was no counter and after a few seconds, I heard his light snore, the kind that was barely above a heavy breath. And soon enough the rhythmic sound lulled me back to sleep.

When I woke up next, it was to an empty bed. I blindly patted behind me for Wade but all I felt was a cool mattress. I rolled over, opening my eyes and looking at Wade's side of the bed. It was empty, with a tiny receipt from a gas station laying loosely on his pillow, with his writing on it. I grabbed it, blinking the sleep from my eyes to read it.

 _Had to get to the bar and didn't want to wake you_

I flipped onto my back and reached for my phone on the nightstand. I scrolled through social media sites, caught up on the news, and checked email before getting up and getting started on the day. This was a new normal. We were past the initial honeymoon phase of going at it like rabbits 24/7 where we had to have sex at least once before heading out for the day, every day, and had instead gotten beyond that. Sure, sometimes it still happened – we were by no means abstinent – but it was different somehow, though I couldn't pinpoint exactly the reason. It just was… better.

I'd intentionally taken the weekend of Wade's opening off, and Brick in an odd turn of events, hadn't argued when I'd asked him if he could be the on-call doctor this weekend. Freedom! I took my time getting ready, cleaning up Wade's room a bit in the process before heading into town, bracing myself for getting stopped by people with residual questions about the engagement.

And stopped I was. Once I got into town it took almost an hour to get the two and a half blocks to Wade's, with me having to interrupt and stop people mid-thought to move on my way. They meant well, I knew they did. But a mix of my inner New Yorker wanting to keep things private, to me not really having much to keep private because Wade and I hadn't discussed _any_ of it yet, made me want to go into hiding.

The morning kept getting better as the first person I saw as I walked into Wade's was Lemon. We exchanged cordial smiles as we approached each other.

"Lemon," I greeted half-heartedly. "AB," I added, smiling a bit more.

"Zoe," Lemon nodded in return. "I hear congratulations are in order."

"Yes," AB added in her standard perky tone. "We heard all about it." She swatted my arm playfully. "I'm gonna pretend I'm not offended that I had to hear second hand."

I smiled in earnest, shrugging. "Sorry, it just kind of happened. Both the proposal and people hearing about it."

"Well," Lemon said shaking her head and reaching for my ring. "Let's see it then. The ring."

She took my hand, her face scrunching at the ring before looking up at me. "Hasn't he given you this one before?"

"Yea," I confirmed, shrugging. So what?

"So, he's recycling a ring?" AB asked. "That's…"

"Tacky. The words you're looking for are tacky, classless, and cheap."

"It was his mother's," I interjected. It was sweet and had more meaning behind it than any other store-bought ring could ever have.

"Ohhh…" AB replied. "Well, then I'm sorry. And it's beautiful."

"It's a nice gesture, but you should have that and your own ring. He shouldn't have given it to you all those months ago if he was going to use it to propose to the woman he planned to marry."

"Fortunately, we're one in the same," I snapped back with a smile. The south was teaching me things – like how to be bitchy with a pleasant grin on my face.

"That is fortunate," Lemon spat back with a similar expression.

"Well," AB started, diffusing the awkward tension. "Lemon and I were just heading out, but I'll call you later. I want every last detail."

I nodded, feeling grateful that I'd found a girl-friend that I could talk to about these things. There was Rose, but there were some things that I didn't feel comfortable discussing with a minor.

I moved past them, heading for the bar where Wade was taking someone's payment. As the person got her change and moved, George's profile appeared beside her, his phone against his ear. Are you fucking kidding me, today?

"Hey," I said to Wade as I slid onto a barstool in front of him.

"Mornin doc," he smiled, reaching for a coffee pot. "Someone slept in."

"Eh, I was being lazy. Also, your clean clothes pile on your chair was turning into Everest, so I cleaned a little."

"And in exchange, here you go," he said, sliding the cup of coffee towards me and placing the jar of brown sugar beside it.

"Already acting like a wife then," George chimed in, with a laugh. "Cleaning up the house."

"It's not only a wife's job anymore. Some would argue the responsibility never should have been solely on the wife to maintain the house," I countered. Neanderthals.

"Simmer down shortcake. It was just a joke," Wade defended. "Plus, everyone knows you're way messier than I am."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"No," I began. "I just have more stuff."

"Exactly. More stuff. More clutter. More messy."

"Messier," I corrected.

"See," he smirked. "You agree."

I rolled my eyes and stirred in the sugar. "You're an infant."

"One that you're stuck with," he chuckled. "You chose the man."

"More like man-child."

He folded his arms on the bar and leaned forward, dropping to a whisper. "That's not what you were calling me when I had you against the pool table last night."

I rolled my eyes again, fighting the blush. Fortunately, with how frequently Wade used sexual innuendo in public, my physical response was getting easier to keep in check.

"So how are you George?" I asked, turning and pulling back from Wade's lingering look.

He glanced up from the newspaper he had in front of him. "How am I? Besides the fact that neither you nor my best friend told me you two were engaged, just dandy."

"We were going to tell people, but then… it just got out," I said, half apologizing and half already tired of having to.

"Yea, plus I was gonna swing by this week with a six-pack and ask you to be my best man, so you woulda found out then anyway," Wade added.

I turned to look at him, grinning like an idiot. I don't know why, but the idea that he had started making plans for it, even something as small as picking his best man, gave me butterflies. This was really happening. And also, had he broken the news to Lavon that he wasn't going to be it?

"What?" Wade asked, looking at me like I had four heads.

"I'm not sure if I'm more offended or honored," George answered, looking confused.

"He says stuff that makes me feel the same way, all the time," I lamented, leaning towards him.

"I mean, you were gonna wait a week to give me one of the biggest pieces of news of your life, but at the same time ask me to be your best man."

"I didn't realize I had asked a girl to stand up next me," Wade said, sounding annoyed.

George shook his head, rolling his eyes. "Shut up. Of course I'll do it," he finally replied, his expression doing a 180 into a genuine smile. "Of course, I will. We've been best friends since we were 5. But are you sure you don't want to ask Jesse?"

"Nah," Wade shrugged. "I'll tell him about this later, and if he's around he can be an usher or some shit. You're more like a brother to me than he's ever been."

"Well alright then," George nodded definitively. "Have you picked a maid of honor?" He asked turning to me.

"Uh…"

"Yes! Bluebell wants to know who is going to be Zoe's numero uno," Dash reiterated, seeming to pop up out of nowhere, as he was wont to do.

"Um…" I said just as eloquently.

"She's thinkin it over, okay?" Wade said, speaking up for me.

"KISS! KISS! KISS!" Someone started chanting behind Dash. Oh god.

"Oh, quit it," Wade brushed off, waving his hand. The chanting grew louder. I sighed, looking over at him.

"If it's what the people want? We can just get it over with." I offered up.

"When it comes to kissin you doc, 'getting it over with' is not how I'll ever operate."

We exchanged a half second moment. The kind where your heart feels like it's swollen, in a good way, and you feel like everything bad that has ever happened has all been worth it because you're sharing this single moment with the person you're looking at. That was how Wade made me feel, more often than not. Like if it came down to it, it would really be him and I against the world. Or in this case, him and I against the town's eagerness to be firmly involved in our lives.

"Fine!" He shouted over my head. "But this is not going to be a regular thing," he added, pointing his finger at the small group that had made a semi-circle around us. "And I don't want you harassing us with questions about the wedding. We'll tell everyone what we want to announce, when we want to announce it."

"But what about a date?!" Piper Clemson, one of the few women that had been divorced more than twice in the town, shouted.

"It includes asking about the date!" He said, hollering over the crowd in her direction.

"Listen," I said, a bit softer and primarily looking at Dash. "This just happened. We want to enjoy it before we throw ourselves into all of this. Plus, I'm moving to Birmingham next month, so we have that to plan for waaaaay before a wedding."

There was some murmuring and I wanted to slap myself. They had probably forgotten I was moving or thought the move was off with the engagement.

"You're still going?" Dash asked, sounding even more surprised than he looked.

"Listen, do you want the damn kiss or not?" Wade said, leaning over the bar.

"Will you agree to an exclusive sit-down interview for my blog?"

I glanced at Wade, feeling like a celebrity – and not in a good way. Wade just shrugged in my direction.

"One interview," I answered sternly. "And no bombarding us with questions before it, or any follow ups afterward." I totally should have been an attorney with the way I was negotiating.

He thought a minute, then nodded. "People! Give them space for the kiss! You'll have all your questions answered in an upcoming tell-all edition on my blog!"

Wade made his way around the bar, shaking his head. "I feel like an animal in a zoo."

"You've got that right," I agreed.

With the crowd watching us, it felt awkward. I laughed nervously, looking up at him.

"This is weird," I whispered. He nodded, and I was mid-nervous giggle when his kiss silenced me.

I kept my hands at his sides, and it felt like crowd was making noise underwater as I smelled his aftershave and felt his teeth nip at my bottom lip.

Even thousands of kisses in, every one of them gave me butterflies like the very first time – before I left, before we were in a relationship, hell, before I even knew I liked him. The first night we kissed, me in a boxed-wine drunken stupor, straddling him in his car as "Dixie" rang out from his car horn. It was all the cliché shit I hated about love in pop culture; the world falling away from us, my senses hypersensitive to everything between him and I.

It was him that pulled back first, and as the noise from the crowd ramped back up in volume. "Mornin' doc," he whispered, his nose still close enough to slightly rub against mine. I batted my eyes open, smiling like the cat that ate the canary and seeing a similar grin on his face. "Mhm," was all I could muster in response.

 **WPOV**

I loved how Zoe looked sometimes after we kissed. It was like I'd put her in some kind of altered state, and she hadn't quite snapped out of it. After the clapping that followed from the crazy group that had some weird voyeuristic thing going on, the bar got much quieter. People went on eating their breakfast and a few stragglers wandered in asking about brunch. And just like that the world flipped off its crazy switch and all was back to normal (relatively).

"So what are you gonna do with your day off?" I asked her as I got back around the bar.

She shrugged, grabbing her cup of coffee. "Check on Lavon, look at apartments online, and probably go stuff myself on wedding cake samples at the Butterstick."

"Oh," I said, my interest piqued. "When's that going down? I want in on it."

"Sometime this afternoon?"

"Sounds good to me. We can carb load then head home to," I paused to wiggle my eyebrows, "then I'll head back here in time for the dinner rush."

"To nap?" She asked, grinning as she sipped her coffee.

"Not the horizontal activity I was thinking of."

"That is the only activity I'll be doing after eating the amount of sugar I'm planning to shove in my face."

I laughed, shaking my head and walking down to the end of the bar to dump George's used coffee cup and plate into the wash bin under the counter. "We'll see."

"No," she said adamantly. "Cake then nap. That's the plan."

"Well, doc with a plan, text me when you're on your way over there and I'll meet you. I have to head to the back to do a few things while it's slow."

"Will do," she said drinking the remainder of her coffee and hopping off her chair.

"Hey, hey," I said, walking around the bar to her. "Where ya goin?"

"Um… you said you had to head to the back, so I was going to head home," she replied, eyeing me, confused.

"Yea, but where's my goodbye lovin?" I smirked. I leaned down and gave her a quick peck on the lips. "Alright, get out of here."

She puffed out a quick laugh and rolled her eyes, smiling. "Okay weirdo."

What little was left of the morning went by quickly, as did most of the afternoon. It wasn't until after three that Zoe texted that she needed me to come home.

"Wanda, something's up at the plantation. I'll be back in a few," I hollered in her direction. It was the lull between lunch and dinner and she was playing solitaire on one of the empty tables. She looked super focused and waved me off, barely acknowledging me.

Nothing was on fire and I couldn't smell any smoke or burning as I headed up the steps of my place. "Doc?" I asked, pulling open the screen door. I headed inside and saw her standing in the doorway of the bedroom wearing one of her short silk robes. It was a little open and barely covering anything.

She smirked. "I was thinking about what you said, and I decided your version of horizontal was better than mine."

This girl kept me on my damn toes. I grinned, walking towards her and tugging my t-shirt off as I approached her. She rolled her shoulders, the thin excuse for a robe dropping silently just as I got to her. She laughed a little as I lifted her up. "God I'm gonna love being married to you," I grinned before reaching for her lips.

"So how are you gonna break it to Lavon that he's not going to be your best man?" She asked after we'd done the deed and she was wrapped around me under the covers like a koala.

"I figured at the same time you asked him to be your man of honor," I said, massaging her scalp with my fingers. She pulled back a little and looked up at me.

"You thought I was going to ask him to be on my side?"

"Yea," I shrugged. "He's your best friend, isn't he?"

"Well yea," she started, laying her head back down. "But I was thinking of asking AB. I figured AB would be my maid of honor, Lavon would be your best man – that way they'd walk down the aisle together."

"Well, I guess it'll be Lavon and George with linked arms headed towards the alter." The mental image was kinda hilarious and I had to hold back my laugh.

I felt her body shake as she laughed a little. "That is hilarious to picture. Lavon is almost a foot taller than George." She went quiet for a beat. "You don't mind waiting until after this fellowship ends, do you?" She sounded almost shy about it.

I leaned down, kissing the top of her head. "Nah doc. Plus I kinda figured that would be the plan."

"And what are the chances we can elope?"

"Fine by me, but you're breaking the news to everyone afterward," I chuckled against her.

"Nevermind," she said quickly. "But small, okay?" She asked, looking up at me.

"Whoever you want," I told her, pulling her up my side. "Honestly, as long as you're my wife at the end of it, I don't really care about any of the other stuff."

"If we're having a wedding, you're not getting off helping me plan this thing Wade Kinsella," she said sternly. "No way am I doing this alone."

"You won't be, you'll have the entire town as one collective wedding planner."

She scowled. "No help, no wife."

I sighed dramatically. "Fiiiine. Already giving me ultimatums."

"Not an ultimatum, just a fact."

"Then Wade Kinsella, reporting for wedding duties."

There was no way in hell I would give her a single reason to change her mind.


End file.
